Topic: Pentagon Says China’s Boost To Space Plan Poses A Threat

New York Times
March 4, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — China is developing the ability to limit or prevent the use of satellites by potential adversaries, the Pentagon said Monday in a report to Congress.
The report, the latest annual assessment of China’s military power, highlights developments in China’s commercial space program and asserts that some of it can be of military use. It says Chinese leaders have been silent on the question of a military motivation for their space programs.
The report said “writings” by the Chinese military “emphasize the necessity of ‘destroying, damaging and interfering with the enemy’s reconnaissance/observation and communications satellites.’” Such writings suggest that those satellites, and navigation and early-warning satellites, “could be among initial targets of attack to blind and deafen the enemy,” it said.
China also appears to be developing cyberwarfare ability, according to the report.
More broadly, the Pentagon report asserted that Beijing’s reluctance to share details about its military buildup posed a risk to stability in Asia. It said the international community had limited knowledge of the motivations, decision-making and capabilities of China’s military modernization.
That ignorance includes a lack of clarity about China’s defense spending. Washington contends that Beijing understates military spending by tens of billions of dollars.
“The lack of transparency in China’s military and security affairs poses risks to stability by increasing the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation,” the report said. “This situation will naturally and understandably lead to hedging against the unknown.”
The report places increased emphasis on concern about China’s space programs and potential for space warfare. It also said China was improving its own satellite capability, including construction of a new satellite launching complex on Hainan Island.